Call to develop fair pricing system in Belarus

MINSK, 17 February (BelTA) – It is necessary to come up with a system of fair pricing, First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Nikolai Snopkov said at the working meeting with company chiefs, BelTA has learned.

Nikolai Snopkov thanked food retailers for retaining discounts for vulnerable population groups despite the difficult situation. These discounts had been agreed upon last year. “Seventeen food retailers are participating in this program to provide 10% discounts. The program covers more than 2.5 million people - these are pensioners, families with many children, people with disabilities. Over this period, these discounts have exceeded Br23 million. This once again shows the basic principles of our social development, i.e. the price is not the most important thing. What matters most is fair pricing,” the official said.

The first deputy prime minister emphasized that pricing is one of the fundamental issues in the fair ecosystem that is being built in Belarus. “Our meeting is taking place upon direct instructions of the president. In this regard, I will ask you to work hard, and be responsible and fair. I believe that our communication will not end at this meeting. We need to develop an interaction algorithm. We will continue to regulate prices the way we are doing it today in accordance with Resolution No. 713 (2). Or we can come up with a mechanism to ensure win-win outcomes for all as well as reasonable and fair prices on the store shelf. This is not an easy task. There is no such regulatory experience anywhere,” Nikolai Snopkov noted.

“Today, our neighbors and colleagues in the EAEU, former Soviet nations, are adopting our experience. Belarus has always paid much attention to price regulation and ensuring fair prices. We have never relaxed control, but we had to toughen regulations in the face of turbulence and uncertainty, complexities and artificially high prices. For almost four months our work has been regulated by Decree No. 713. Before that, we worked in compliance with Decree No. 100 for more than a year,” he added.